After last year’s relaunch of the Longines Legend Diver in a more modest size, the Saint-Imier-based watchmaker is back in 2024 with a new range celebrating the collection’s 65th anniversary. With a trio of new dial colours and the same fan-favourite 39mm case size, the Longines Legend Diver is back where it belongs — in the spotlight.
It was in 1959 that Longines first launched the Super Compressor Diver ref. 7042, which has served as the inspiration for the Legend Diver collection that debuted in 2007. As a brand with its finger firmly on the pulse of what collector and enthusiast communities want, the 2007 Legend Diver was one of the first timepieces released to predict the continuing trend of vintage-inspired watches with smaller case sizes.
Before the 2007 return, however, Australia was one of the few countries to officially adopt the purpose-built design. Longines created a Super-Compressor cased watch in 1974 for the Royal Australian Navy divers, which was water-resistant to 300m and powered by the automatic calibre 633.1.
While the original Legend Diver featured a 42mm case size — and several follow-up launches arrived with 36mm cases — the 39mm Legend Diver is currently the Goldilocks size for civilian heritage dive watches. The release was met with strong enthusiasm as a result and this year, the fans keep getting what they want with the same overall package, but in bold, eye-catching dial colours.
Beyond the 39mm case diameter, it measures 12.7mm in thickness (including the domed sapphire crystal over the dial) and has the same distinct twin-crown Super-Compressor design. Originally produced by the Swiss firm Ervin Piquerez S.A., the Super-Compressor shape was cleverly designed to increase its water resistance with increasing water pressure as a diver went deeper.
The twin-crown arrangement offers improved water resistance by relocating the rotating dive bezel beneath the dial’s sapphire crystal, with one crown for the movement and the other to manipulate the bezel. Featuring a closed caseback with an old-time diver engraved onto its surface, the 65th anniversary Longines Legend Diver has an impressive 300m of water resistance.
The coloured lacquer dials are the stars of the show here, adding green, terracotta and anthracite grey to the current range. While the anthracite grey is a safe bet, the terracotta looks fantastic, and the green dial is an excellent shade of almost forest green, all of which are punctuated by Super-LumiNova-coated hands and dial markers.
Beneath the dials, Longines hasn’t held back with the movement for this generation of Legend Diver, which is powered by Longines’ exclusive L888.6 calibre. Not only is it COSC-certified as a chronometer, but it’s also antimagnetic to ISO 764 standard thanks to a silicone balance spring, and delivers up to 72 hours of power reserve when fully wound.
The final update to this latest iteration of the Longines Legend Diver is in the impressively comfortable beads-of-rice bracelet, which now arrives with micro-adjustment functionality to ensure a perfect fit. Not only will it be available with this trio of watches, but it’ll also be added to the 39mm references that were launched last year.
This latest Longines Legend Diver release is a fine way to celebrate the 65th anniversary of a collection, and one that will almost certainly prove popular with collectors and enthusiasts alike. The three new references are currently available from Longines boutiques and online, with an Australian RRP of $5,600.
This article is sponsored by Longines. Thank you for supporting the brands that support Boss Hunting.
